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| In May 2001 Levy upset the world's top player, his idol ], at the ]. Levy stunned Sampras 7–5, 2–6, 6–4, saving 13 of 17 break points, in what was his most impressive victory yet. Sampras said: "He played very well." In his next match at the tournament, he beat world # 33 ] 6–4, 7–6 (6), and then whipped ], 6–2, 6–4, winning 80% of his first serves, to advance to the quarterfinals, where he subsequently lost to Sweden's ]. | In May 2001 Levy upset the world's top player, his idol ], at the ]. Levy stunned Sampras 7–5, 2–6, 6–4, saving 13 of 17 break points, in what was his most impressive victory yet. Sampras said: "He played very well." In his next match at the tournament, he beat world # 33 ] 6–4, 7–6 (6), and then whipped ], 6–2, 6–4, winning 80% of his first serves, to advance to the quarterfinals, where he subsequently lost to Sweden's ]. | ||
| In June 2001 Levy upset world # 17 ] of South Africa 6–2, 6–4 |
In June 2001 Levy upset world # 17 ] of South Africa 6–2, 6–4. He then beat world # 40 ] 7–6 (3), 5–7, 6–3 with powerful groundstrokes and spinning drop shots, while sustaining a hip injury. At one point, Roddick prostrated himself on the court, worshipping with outstretched arms in Levy's direction after Levy had gone up 40-0 on Roddick's serve on three cross-court passes. "He'd produced three running passing shots in a row," Roddick explained. "My approach play hadn't been bad. He just came up with power and speed and there was nothing I could do about it at all." Levy lost in the finals of the ] Tournament in England to ] of Sweden, 7–5, 6–3, despite his use of what had become by then his trademark drop volleys. | ||
| At the US Open in 2002 he defeated world # 30 ] 1–6, 7–6 (7), 4–6, 6–3, 6–4. | At the US Open in 2002 he defeated world # 30 ] 1–6, 7–6 (7), 4–6, 6–3, 6–4. | ||
Revision as of 15:50, 12 July 2009
 | |
| Country (sports) |  Israel |
|---|---|
| Residence | Ramat Hasharon, Israel |
| Height | 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in) |
| Turned pro | 1995 |
| Plays | Right-handed; one-handed backhand |
| Prize money | $1,459,966 |
| Singles | |
| Career record | 58–87 |
| Career titles | 0 |
| Highest ranking | 30 (25 June, 2001) |
| Grand Slam singles results | |
| Australian Open | 2nd (2001) |
| French Open | 2nd (2001) |
| Wimbledon | 2nd (2000) |
| US Open | 2nd (2002) |
| Doubles | |
| Career record | 32–45 |
| Career titles | 1 |
| Highest ranking | 72 (4 February, 2008) |
| Last updated on: 25 March 2008. | |
Har'el Levy (born 5 August 1978, in Kibbutz Nahshonim, Israel) is an Israeli professional male tennis player. Levy's best singles ranking was # 30 in the world in 2001, and his best doubles ranking was # 76 in 2007.
Levy, Noam Okun, and Dudi Sela have been Israel's top singles players over the last few years, and are among a number of Jewish professional tennis players.
Tennis career
Levy, who is Jewish, began playing tennis at age seven. His family moved to Portugal for a year and half when he was nine years old. They returned to Israel, and in 1992 the family moved to Ramat Hasharon so he could train at the Israel Tennis Centers there. That year, he was # 1 in the under-14 age group in Israel.
His best results include beating Pete Sampras and Michael Chang, reaching the singles finals in Toronto Masters Series and Nottingham, and winning a doubles title in Newport, Rhode Island.
1995-99
After turning pro in 1995, Levy served his required time in the Israeli military, but the IDF (Israeli Defense Forces) allowed him to compete in events during his service.
In March 1998 he and Lior Mor won in Israel, defeating Barry Cowan and Filippo Veglio 6–4, 7–6 in the final. In June he and partner Raviv Weidenfeld won in Ireland, defeating Daniele Braccoalo and Igor Gaudi 7–6, 6–4 in the final. In July he and Mor won in Greece, defeating Gilles Elseneer and Wim Neefs 6–3, 0–6, 6–3 in the final.
In July 1999 while ranked # 241 he beat Michael Chang, formerly ranked # 2 in the world, 6-4, 6-3, at the Safeway Challenger in Aptos, California. In August 1999 at Indianapolis he defeated world # 40 Jiří Novák, 7–5 6–1. In September he and partner Noam Okun won at Budapest, defeating Daniel Fiala and Leoš Friedl 6–4, 4–6, 6–2 in the final.
2000-04
In January 2000 he and partner Jonathan Erlich won at Orlando, Florida, defeating Óscar Ortiz and Jimy Szymanski 6–3, 6–4 in the final. In July they won at Newport, Rhode Island, defeating Kyle Spencer and Mitch Sprengelmeyer 7–6 (2), 7–5 in the final.
In July 2000 at the Tennis Masters Series-Canada tournament in Toronto, while ranked only 144th in the world, he beat world # 73 Martin Damm, # 47 Stefan Koubek, # 27 Sébastien Grosjean, # 61 Jérôme Golmard, and # 55 Jiří Novák, before losing in the finals to # 9 Marat Safin. Levy more than doubled his career earnings with the $211,000 runner-up prize. Levy was the first Israeli to reach an ATP Tour final since Amos Mansdorf in 1994.
Levy completed his three years of military service in the IDF in 2000.
In March 2001 he upset world # 10 Tim Henman of Great Britain 6–2, 6–4 at Scottsdale.
In May 2001 Levy upset the world's top player, his idol Pete Sampras, at the Italian Open. Levy stunned Sampras 7–5, 2–6, 6–4, saving 13 of 17 break points, in what was his most impressive victory yet. Sampras said: "He played very well." In his next match at the tournament, he beat world # 33 Francisco Clavet 6–4, 7–6 (6), and then whipped Nicolas Kiefer, 6–2, 6–4, winning 80% of his first serves, to advance to the quarterfinals, where he subsequently lost to Sweden's Andreas Vinciguerra.
In June 2001 Levy upset world # 17 Wayne Ferreira of South Africa 6–2, 6–4. He then beat world # 40 Andy Roddick 7–6 (3), 5–7, 6–3 with powerful groundstrokes and spinning drop shots, while sustaining a hip injury. At one point, Roddick prostrated himself on the court, worshipping with outstretched arms in Levy's direction after Levy had gone up 40-0 on Roddick's serve on three cross-court passes. "He'd produced three running passing shots in a row," Roddick explained. "My approach play hadn't been bad. He just came up with power and speed and there was nothing I could do about it at all." Levy lost in the finals of the Nottingham Tournament in England to Thomas Johansson of Sweden, 7–5, 6–3, despite his use of what had become by then his trademark drop volleys.
At the US Open in 2002 he defeated world # 30 Andrei Pavel 1–6, 7–6 (7), 4–6, 6–3, 6–4.
Levy was hampered by injuries for much of the 2002 season.
At the qualifying tournament for Wimbledon in 2003, Levy defeated Paul Goldstein in the first round, and reached the 3rd round before losing. In September 2003, Levy and partner Paul Baccanello of Australia won the doubles title at the Open de l'Isere, defeating Rik de Voest and Johan Landsberg 5–7, 6–4, 7–6 (5) in Grenoble, France. Levy also reached the singles final at the tournament. Later that month he paired with Amir Hadad to defeat Fred Hemmes and Raemon Sluiter 6–4, 6–4 to win in Groningen, Holland. In October he and Hadad defeated Scott Humphries and Mark Merklein 6–4, 6–7 (3), 6–3 to win in Nottingham, England. Levy was back in peak form at the Dnepropetrovsk tournament in November 2003. He reached the singles final before succumbing to Georgian Irakli Labadze 3–6, 6–3, 1–6. Levy fared better in the doubles tournament where, along with partner Jonathan Erlich he won the title in straight sets, 6–4, 6–3, over Simon Aspelin and Johan Landsberg. He and Erlich also won that month at Bratislava, Slovakia, defeating Mario Ančić and Martin García 7–6 (7), 6–3 in the final.
2005-present
The doubles performances of Levy and his partner Amir Hadad in the months of April and May, 2005, were impressive. In late April the Israelis captured the Hungary F1 tournament in Budapest, defeating Nikola Martinović and Josko Topic 5–7, 6–2, 6–1 in the final. A few days later they won the F2 title in Miskolc as well, beating Bastian Knittel and Marius Zay 6–1, 6–0 in the final. Levy and Hadad then competed in May in the German town of Furth, where they took the title from Jan Frode Andersen and Johan Landsberg, 6–1, 6–2. In July they won at Budaors, Hungary, defeating Adam Chadaj and Stephane Robert 6–4, 6–7 (7), 6–3.
In 2005 Levy won the USTA Tulsa Challenger, beating Benedikt Dorsch of Germany, the reigning NCAA men's singles champion, in a three-hour duel 5–7, 7–5, 7–6 (6). In September 2005 he and partner Noam Okun won in Istanbul, Turkey, defeating David Škoch and Martin Štěpánek in the final, 6-4, 7–5.
In January 2006, a right shoulder injury forced him to retire from a Sydney ATP singles match, and sidelined him for a week. In June 2006 he and Giorgio Galimberti won in Milan, Italy, defeating Frederico Gil and Juan Albert Viloca in the final, 6–3, 6–3. In August he and partner Sam Warburg won in the Bronx, New York, defeating Scott Lipsky and David Martin in the final, 6–4, 7–5.
In April 2007 he and Warburg won at Valencia, California, defeating Cecil Mamiit and Eric Taino in the final, 6–2, 6–4. In June they won at Yuba City, California, defeating Eric Nunez and Jean-Julien Rojer in the final, 6–4, 6–4.
In July 2007 Levy and Rajeev Ram competed together in doubles at Wimbledon, where they made it through the qualifying rounds and to the quarterfinals -- Levy's best grand slam showing to date. On their way they defeated 15th-ranked Martín García and Sebastián Prieto 7–6 (0), 6–7 (4), 7–6 (4), 6–7 (3), 10-8 in the third round. They lost in the quarters to No. 10 seeds Arnaud Clément and Michaël Llodra, 6–3, 6–2, 6–2.
Later in July, Levy won a challenger title in Manchester, Great Britain, beating Travis Rettenmaier 6–2, 6–4 in the final.
Levy suffered from an injury and hip surgery during his peak years, and has so far not recovered enough to play at his top level.
Davis Cup
Levy has played for Israel's Davis Cup team since 1998, with an 21-15 record through July 2009. In 2008 he played in a tie against Sweden, in which he was not victorious in the final and deciding match.. However, he redeemed Israel and himself in 2009 against Sweden.
In the 2009 World Group Playoffs in March 2009, Israel again faced Sweden. 2002 Australian Open champion Thomas Johansson defeated Levy in the opening match, 6-7 (3), 6-4, 7-5, 4-6, 8-6, in just under 4 hours, but Levy won the decisive final match against Andreas Vinciguerra in Vinciguerra's hometown of Malmo, Sweden, 6-4, 4-6, 6-4, 3-6, 8-6 in a marathon 3 hour, 44 minutes to lead the Israeli team to a come-from-behind 3-2 victory over the 7-time Davis Cup champion Swedes at Baltic Hall, allowing Israel to advance in the 2009 Davis Cup. In their 84-year Davis Cup history, the Swedes had never before lost a tie after holding a 2-1 lead.
"I had a coach who always told me that I'm a winner, and that I will always be one. The press labeled me as a loser when I wasn't doing well, and now they say I'm a winner. I know my worth, and I proved to myself that I can still win big matches," Levy said.
Israel (ranked 8th in the Davis Cup standings, with 5,394 points) hosted heavily favored Russia (which won in both 2002 and 2006, and was the top-ranked country in Davis Cup standings, with 27,897 points) in a Davis Cup quarterfinal tie in July 2009, on indoor hard courts at the Nokia Arena in Tel Aviv. Israel was represented by Levy, Dudi Sela, Jonathan Erlich, and Andy Ram. Russia's lineup consisted of Marat Safin (# 24 in the world; former world # 1), Igor Andreev (26), Igor Kunitsyn (35), and Mikhail Youzhny (44; former world # 8). The stage was set by Safin, who prior to the tie told the press: "With all due respect, Israel was lucky to get to the quarterfinals." The Israeli team's response was to beat the Russian team in each of their first three matches, thereby winning the tie. Levy, ranked what the Russian press referred to as a "lowly" world # 210, beat Russia's top player, Andreev, world # 24, 6-4, 6-2, 4-6, 6-2 in the opening match. Sela (# 33) followed by beating Russian Youzhny 3-6, 6-1, 6-0, 7-5. Israeli captain Eyal Ran likened his players to two fighter jets on court, saying: "I felt as if I had two F-16s out there today, they played amazingly well." The 10,500 spectators were the largest crowd ever for a tennis match in Israel. The next day Israelis Ram and Erlich beat Safin and doubles specialist Kunitsyn 6-3, 6-4, 6-7 (3), 4-6, 6-4 in front of a boisterous crowd of over 10,000. Ran was carried shoulder-high around the Tel Aviv stadium, as the 10,000-strong crowd applauded. With the tie clinched for Israel, the reverse singles rubbers on July 11 will be "dead", and instead of best-of-five matches, they will be best-of-three sets, with the outcomes of little to no importance. Israel next faces either Spain away or Germany at home on September 18-20, in Israel's first appearance in the Davis Cup semifinals.
Personal
Levy is a good friend of Brazilian tennis champion Gustavo Kuerten, with whom Levy has often been a hitting partner.
Levy is a fan of the soccer team Maccabi Haifa.
References
- Levi, Joshua, "Israeli star trains at Maccabi courts," The Australian Jewish News," 1/10/08, accessed 6/4/09
- Blas, Howard, "Jewish players stop in New Haven on the way to U.S. Open," The Jewish Ledger, 8/27/08; accessed 6/4/09
- Serving Jewish Pride in L.A.
- ITC Champions
- "Israel drops Russia 2-0 in Davis Cup," Russia Today, 7/10/09, accessed 7/11/09
- "Levy wins to give Israel shock lead," Hindustan Times, 7/10/09, accessed 7/11/09
- "Nadal left off Spain team for Davis Cup, Associated Press, 6/30/09, accessed 6/30/09
- Sinai, Allon, "Int'l Tennis: Ram, Erlich expect the spark to return for Davis Cup tie," The Jerusalem Post, 7/3/09, accessed 7/3/09
- Spungin, Simon, "Davis Cup win was a very Israeli triumph," Haaretz, 7/11/09, accessed 7/11/09
- "Safin to miss Davis Cup singles in Tel Aviv," Russia Today, 7/10/09, accessed 7/11/09
- Lewis, Ori, "Levy and Sela win to stun Russia in Tel Aviv," Reuters, 7/10/09, accessed 7/10/09
- "Netanyahu: Davis Cup team has filled nation with pride," The Jerusalem Post, 7/11/09, accessed 7/11/09
- James, Dave, "Israel make Davis Cup history, USA stay alive," AFP, 7/11/09, accessed 7/11/09
- Dimon, Ricky, "Singles rubbers dead as Israel finishes off Russia," Tennis Talk, 7/11/09, accessed 7/11/09
- "Henman's game plan all in vain," The Independent, 5/11/01, accessed 7/11/09
External links
- Harel Levy at the Association of Tennis Professionals
- Levy Recent Match Results
- Levy World Ranking History
- Davis Cup record
- Jews in Sports bio
- Interview, 8/26/02
- "Israel's Harel Levy wins USTA Tulsa Challenger," 10/3/05
- Pictures of Harel Levy